Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1887-05-05
FLORIDA POSSIBILITIES.
How Swamps are peing Turned Into Gardens
Raising Cocoauuts and rineapplss-Ths Sugar
Land Of the Future.


Raising Cocoanuts aud rineapples-Ths sugar
Land Of the Future.
Letter to Cleveland Leader.
met Judge w. ID. Kelley, OF Penn.
sylvania, Mt the Windsor Hotel at
Jacksonville. He had just retained
from South Florida, and he was full
OF the wonderful resources and pos.
sibiliti-s OF that unknown region,
South Florida embraces all the lands
south OF the twenty-ninth parallel OF
latitude. 1t contains over 81, 900
square miles, an area moro than three
times as large az the State OF Massa'
chusetts. and more than twenty
times as large as Rhode Island. A
greater part OF this territory is I'M
known, and some OF IL has never been
explored. It's great place for the
grazing OF cattle and it contains i'm.
mense swamp lands, which are only in
habited by Indians and wild beasts.
The northern part OF II Is now
being settled and the north
western part contains much iino
orange country. On the eastern part
along the Atlantic ocean is the Indian
river region, which is the finest orange
country in tho world, and the fruit OF
which sells at higher prices than any
other. Some OF the best land OF this
region is susceptible OF drainage.
Hamilton Disston, the saw millionaire
OF Philadelphia, has organized com.
pany foi its reclamation. II you will
look at the map OF Florida you will
see that there are u number of lakes
joined by rivers which finally pour
their waters into the great lake OF
Oksechobee. Disston bought 5000.
600 acres OF land in this region at
twenty-five cents an acre, and entered
into a contact with the State OF Flor
ida by which no was to have hall
the land which he reclaimed,
He has dug wide bitches from
one OF these lakes to the other, until
he now has stream OF water running
through them of into the Gulf OF Mex
leo. The topmost lake OF this system.
is, think, lake Tohopekaliga, and
this is about sixty feet higher than
the waters OF the gulf. He has con
tinuous iall from the head of this lake
to the gulf and he has redeemed, it is
said, such an amount OF land a. to
give his company the right to 1000
600 acres. The work il still going on,
and great area Of valuable territ DRY
will be recovered. The lands included
in TIE Disston purchase are the best
do al ln
said, the best sugar lands OF the Unit
ed States, and this will be our great
sugar country OF the future.
In this region, also, cocoanuts and
| pineapples are grown, and the cocoa.
nut industry is being largely cult,
waited in South Florida. PineapOles
and cocoanuts pay very well. Ten
thousand pineapples can be raised, it is
said, to the acre, and an acre ofground
will support fifty cocoanut trees. The
cocoanut trees require little cultiva'
ton. They begin to bear at from nine to
twelve years OF age, and they produce
from 80 to $50 nuts to the tree. Cocoa.
nuts bring about five cents apiece To
the grower, and supposing q ten'acre
grove will yield 10000 nuts it would
bring in an income OF 81 900 year
There have been many cocoanut
groves planted within the last
two or three years in south Flori
da. M Field, OF Mlddletown, N
j., has about $4,000 trees
They are planted twenty ieet apart
each way on n strip OF land in Dadc
county, near the Atlantic Ocean. Mr.
Field thinks that the ground along the
ocean is the best for the cocoanut. Ii
Monroe county there are also som,
groves, and ut Charlotte Harbor, on
the Gulf of Mexico, there are trees
which produce 800 and more nuts
apiece annually. There are $4,000
tees now in Monroe county, OF which
$4,000 were set out last year. Flor
do grew about 100, 900 dozen pine
apples last year, and the day may
come when it will supply to the United
States the most OF its tropical fruits
General Grant said that Florida wat
capable OF supplying the tropica
fruits now used in tho United
States and all of the 500, 900, DOC
worth OF sugar now imported, and ir
his opinion it afforded the best open
ing ip the world for young men o
small means and great industry.
think this is true TO a certain extent
But the pioneer needs more capital tc
begin his life here than in the Wester,
States. Orange growing and cocoa
nut growing require time before they
begin to yield n profit, but when thu
profit does come it amply compen
safes the few years OF waiting.